Route Map
On Tuesday we explored a bit further afield with the bikes; this is the route that we followed…courtesy of viewranger, the app we use to track our cycling.
We set off along the River Ter and then diverted into Torroella to buy a couple of notebooks…one of us has gone in to Christmas planning mode…and stopped to refuel on coffee from our favourite cafe close to the main square.
There are well marked cycle trails here and we set off again, over the river and turned left towards Gualta.
The path goes alongside some sort of storm drain here, almost empty.
Duck!
You need to get your head down where the path goes under the main road.
Past Orchards
There are a lot of orchards here.
This is the pretty church in Gualta, a small village about 2 miles from Torroella.
Sluice mechanism
There are old irrigation channels and waterways in the village.
Sant Martí
We carried on to the next village…Fontanilles….where there is another lovely old church.
Maria
We met Maria Dolores here…a real Catalonian enthusiast who gave us lots of suggestions about places to visit nearby. She told us about the port of L’Escala, closer to L’Estartit, which was apparently the landing point of the Romans and the start of Catalonia. As with most locals that we have talked to, Maria is a fervent Catalonian, and is desperate to split Catalonia off as a separate state. Madrid, seeing the much higher income of Catalonia compared to the other spanish regions, is not so keen.
Sant Martí
We cycled back along the side roads..no other traffic..to Gualta, and popped in to the local shop for a baguette. There were no filled baguettes or other instant food so I asked about a local cafe or restaurant. Apparently there was a good restaurant about a mile away, but neither my spanish or the shop owner’s english was good enough to get the route in to my thick head so the proprietor smiled, turned the lights off, shut up his shop and led us 2/3 of the way to the restaurant in his van, pointing it out when we were close enough. Now that is good service.
Follow the Van.
Pink Ladys
The restaurant is in the middle of a large orchard, with plenty of fruit still on the trees.
Menu del Dia
Vegetable Pate with pepper sauce.
After this second refuelling stop we headed back to the old bridge we had passed to get some photographs, then returned to base camp.
The Old Bridge
They refer to the late 16th century as ‘modern times’.
One of the ornate sun dials that decorate some of the houses around here.
Rambling about Europe with the Kray Twins (Colin and Penny).
Travels with Mavis 
P+N,
Another great blog. In times of video’d beheadings and the like it was good to hear a little story of human kindness. We had a similar experience when walking in Green Spain when a rather ancient farmer left his equally aged wife tossing hay to walk at least a mile down the valley with us, just to ensure that we found the only footbridge across the river,which would lead us back to our hostel. All without a comprehensible word being exchanged.
keep them coming, Jim
En route to sunny Cumbria now…looking forward to seeing you both again soon…Peter and Nia